8th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
| 8th Armoured Division | |
|---|---|
|
8th Armoured Division insignia. | |
| Active | 4 November 1940 – 1 January 1943 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Armoured |
| Size |
Division, 13,235 men[1] 130+ tanks[nb 1] |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Sir Richard McCreery |
The 8th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. It was deployed to Egypt in June 1942 but never operated as a complete formation and was disbanded in January the following year.
History
The division was sent to North Africa but never saw active service as a complete formation. As the division could not be provided with a lorried infantry brigade, it was broken up and[5] was finally disbanded in Egypt on 1 January 1943.[4]
Following the Second Battle of El Alamein a plan was put forth to use the remains of the division as a self-contained pursuit force to dart forward into the German-Italian rear as far as possibly Tobruk, however the plan to use the division was shelfed and units in the forward area were used instead.[6] Afterwards, the name of the division was used for the purpose of military deception.[7]
General Officer Commanding
The division had four officers who held the position of General Officer Commanding, during the Second World War.
| Appointed | General Officer Commanding |
| 4 November 1940 | Brigadier A.G. Kenchington (acting)[4] |
| 14 December 1940 | Major General Richard McCreery[4] |
| 15 October 1941 | Major-General Charles Norman[4] |
| 24 August 1942 | Major-General Charles Gairdner[4] |
Component Units
(all brigades stripped away from the division prior to the Second Battle of El Alamein)
- 40th Royal Tank Regiment
- 46th Royal Tank Regiment
- 50th Royal Tank Regiment
- 7th Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)
- 41st Royal Tank Regiment
- 45th Royal Tank Regiment
- 47th Royal Tank Regiment
- 11th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps
- 2nd Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
- 4th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
- 5th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment
Support Units
- 14th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters
- 2nd Derbyshire Yeomanry
- 5th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
- 11th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (Honourable Artillery Company)
- 104th (Essex Yeomanry) Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery
- 146th (Pembroke and Cardiganshire) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
See also
Notes
- Footnotes
- ↑ The division was initially organised on Basic Organisation No. III (340 tanks) but on arrival in the Middle East was partially reorganised along the lines of Basic Organisation No. IV;[2] depending on the tanks used, resulting in 44 or 48 tanks per regiment at full strength.[3] However, owing to casualties within Middle East Command, the change to Basic Organisation No. IV was never completed.[4]</ref><ref group='nb'>This is the war establishment, the on-paper strength, of the division for 1942; for information on how divisions changed over the war, please see British Army during the Second World War and British Armoured formations of World War II.
- Citations
References
- Joslen, Lt-Col H.F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
- Playfair, Major-General I.C.O.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C; Flynn R.N., Captain F.C. & Gleave C.B.E., Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1966]. History of the Second World War: The Mediterranean and Middle East, volume 4: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-068-8.
External links
- 8 Armoured Division at Orders of Battle.com
- History